The Novelist Forced to Become Famous

Chapter 26

Jian Jing opened a can of cold beer, nibbling on skewers while watching the celebrity eat in person.

The skewers at this restaurant were small, with just toothpick-sized pieces of meat on each, and only a few corn kernels speared on each cob of corn. After three bites it was as if you hadn't eaten at all.

But Jiang Baiyan didn't seem disappointed at all.

He used his chopsticks to peel off a shred of meat, dipped it in a small bowl filled with mineral water to rinse off all the seasoning, then reverently put it in his mouth, chewing it several times before swallowing it down.

"So delicious," he sighed contentedly.

After eating a shred of chicken, he picked and chose carefully, finally settling on a skewer of potatoes and a skewer of tofu, rinsing them in water before eating them in small bites.

After that, he didn't eat another bite.

Jian Jing was lost in admiration: "Your self-control is awful."

"I barely held back so as not to go back on my word in front of Teacher," Jiang Baiyan covered his face, rather embarrassed as he smiled. "Of course, I really can't eat any more. I have to go back to the set and film tomorrow. If I get pimples from eating barbecue just because I was greedy, the director will kill me."

Jian Jing was struck dumb.

Stars shine brightly in public, but naturally have to pay a price in private.

"Let's chat," Jiang Baiyan pleaded. "Help me forget that I can't eat."

There were too many strangers, and Jian Jing also felt somewhat restrained. This suggestion hit the spot: "Don't call me Teacher anymore, it's weird."

"It's not weird," Jiang Baiyan waved his hand, turning the topic before she could protest. "Speaking of which, we had a really funny thing happen when we were filming Hide and Seek. There was supposed to be a scene filmed on a foggy day, and we finally got the fog but it ended up being too thick to film, what a disaster..."

No author can refuse a topic like this. Film and TV adaptations may not be perfect, and even deviate from the original work in some ways. But visual media has advantages that text lacks - it presents the world built in the mind's eye in a more intuitive, concrete way for the audience.

"At first, Director Ding was very dissatisfied with my performance, he felt I didn't convey that kind of... bewilderment and aloofness. I didn't understand what he meant at all..." Jiang Baiyan scratched his cheek, rather embarrassed.

His words caused Jian Jing's thoughts to wander far away.

When writing Hide and Seek, "Jian Jing" also felt bewildered for a time. She had only written White Cat Detective on a whim, without any skill or method. When the heroine appeared in her mind, the story was already born.

In other words, there was a protagonist first, then the story was written around the protagonist.

Hide and Seek was the opposite - she had the idea of the intersecting timelines first, then started shaping the characters. So she ran into a lot of problems portraying the male protagonist, writing and rewriting, he was either too flat or too out of control.

If the Jian Jing here today was "Jian Jing", that would be great - she would have a lot in common with Jiang Baiyan... As soon as this thought popped up, she inevitably returned to the crux of the issue she had been avoiding.

How should Jian Jing transition between being herself and "Jian Jing"?

Almost at the same time, Jiang Baiyan noticed his companion's distraction.

He stayed calm, not stopping his account, only repeating descriptions of the same thing over and over, to ensure she could seamlessly catch up when her attention returned.

About half a minute later, he saw the sparkle return to Jian Jing's eyes.

"...that's how it was, wasn't I silly?" He stopped the topic in a timely manner.

Sure enough, she knew exactly what he was talking about: "You tried very hard, I'm thankful to you."

Just that one sentence was enough to satisfy Jiang Baiyan.

"I really like Teacher's work, you..." he paused to organize his words, "your stories are very special."

Jian Jing had a slightly puzzled expression.

"Just take it as nonsense from me, Teacher," Jiang Baiyan immediately looked embarrassed, but didn't continue.

Jian Jing was puzzled, but they had only known each other for an hour, so she naturally did not press the issue.

The warm lights, dissipating aromas, messy tableware and bamboo skewers scattered on the ground marked the end of the late night snack.

Jiang Baiyan had to catch a red-eye flight back to the set before dawn, so he left early to say goodbye.

The streets were empty and desolate late at night. The car sped all the way and arrived at the airport half an hour early. Sister Chen had already handled check-in for him, so after security he could board immediately.

There weren't many people on the red-eye flight. After dealing with the flight attendant's request for photos and autographs, Jiang Baiyan could finally relax.

"You were too intimate with Jian," Sister Chen sat next to him and lowered her voice. "If the media got shots from an inappropriate angle, it could cause a lot of trouble for you - the production team won't want you starting rumors like this."

Jiang Baiyan lazily put on an eye mask and said, "Director Ding would be upset if that happened."

"You still shouldn't have done it," Sister Chen gently pointed out the crux of the issue. "You never used to do this before."

She had been in the business for seven years, managing Jiang Baiyan for three. As his executive agent, Sister Chen knew her artist much better than the top agents at the company.

Jiang Baiyan rose to fame in Director Ding's Hide and Seek, starting from a great height. However, due to various reasons, the film was not released immediately after shooting, delayed a full three years.

This obstructed the company's plans to groom him, but he never expressed dissatisfaction, diligently taking classes and auditioning hard, taking on many good roles.

Now he had finally become popular, but he had never made any major mistakes. Disciplined and savvy, Sister Chen was absolutely certain he was the kind of artist every agent dreamed of having.

But his enthusiasm toward Jian Jing today had already exceeded the necessary social boundaries.

"Maybe you could tell me why you did this," Sister Chen patiently advised. "Knowing your reasoning will help me resolve any issues."

"There's no reason, I'm Jian Jing's fan," Jiang Baiyan shrugged innocently. "Fans will naturally be excited to see their idol."

Sister Chen was skeptical: "Really?"

Jiang Baiyan spread his hands, an expression of believe it or not.

The plane took off.

*

Jian Jing did not know Jiang Baiyan's story.

Returning home, she was physically tired but had no desire to sleep. Director Huang's inquiry about her plans for future works lingered in her mind, making her hesitate and waver.

For a moment, she looked into the mirror in the bathroom, hoping to see a different emotion on this familiar face.

But there was none.

The other Jian Jing did not appear. Perhaps when she chose death, her soul had already vanished. Or perhaps the two souls had thoroughly merged, like two drops of water meeting.

To be honest, Jian Jing did not hope to sever herself from "her".

If she had been reborn into someone else's body, then you are you and I am I, very clear, without any confusion whatsoever. But being reborn into another life of yourself was different.

How to face two different "selves"?

She went to the study and opened up the blank document on her computer.

The demon was a monster born between heaven and earth, with no sense of right or wrong. It killed people as humans slaughtered chickens and ducks, not thinking it was committing a crime, only that the curse forced it to learn to distinguish between good and bad like humans.

The whole story had a limited point of view - the reader only knew what the protagonist saw.

Jian Jing tried to lay out the story of Madam Qin Taishou Liubaifeng from the demon's perspective.

She was a beautiful, generous woman. Perhaps not gorgeous or glamorous enough, but she was learned and elegant in speech, it was hard for anyone not to like her. Yet her husband was hypocritical and sinister, appearing deeply in love in public when he had actually been unfaithful long ago...

Plots with real-life prototypes weren't too difficult to write, but Jian Jing still ran into trouble.

The "demon" she wrote lacked something.

No two leaves in the world are identical, even the same author can't guarantee a character won't change. Let alone one created by two different people?

"Jian Jing" became famous young but lost both parents, unconsciously keeping some distance from the world. So the demon she wrote was an outsider observer. While she had a happy family and ordinary life, which made her blend into the crowd, but also gave her the perspective of ordinary people.

She tried to imagine Liu Baifeng's mentality, guessing at motives - the opposite of the demon's attitude.

The demon did not care.

At three in the morning, Jian Jing deleted all the text from the document, once again confirming one fact.

She could not write "Jian Jing's" demon.

But that did not mean she would give up.

Jian Jing made herself an iced Americano, leaning back in her chair. Outside the window it was pitch black, with only a few households still lit.

The coffee banished her drowsiness. She started out anew.

Since what had already happened could not be changed, why cling to the past?

Jian Jing and "Jian Jing" coexisted in this body. The demon could as well. Why not add a new protagonist to Demon Doctor, making it a story with dual protagonists?

*

Kang Mu Cheng got home at 12:30 last night, and was asleep by 1. Having only slept 5 hours, he was now looking over the draft of Demon Doctor II sent by Jian Jing at 6:30 in the morning.

Old framework, new character.

This was within his expectations.

The key to a series was that there had to be a clear overarching storyline. Demon Doctor didn't have one. It was a string of standalone stories, endable at any time.

But readers were very picky creatures.

If the second installment could not maintain the standard of the original - no, to be precise, merely maintaining without surprising and delighting them with something new, they would inevitably be disappointed. But too drastic a change, without retaining the original flavor, would also disappoint readers.

Jian Jing had made a very clever setting, making up for the lack of an overarching storyline.

The demon was evil, yet a doctor who saved lives.

The new character was good, yet had to act as a violent hunter.

Demon Hunter.

Black and white, good and evil, worldly and otherworldly, the story contains conflicting sparks.

"Very good," he replied quietly, "I look forward to the follow up."

Jian Jing's tone was as if she didn't believe it: "This is just a first draft, you don't have to encourage me like that. I want to know what you really think."

Kang Mu Cheng laughed. Scenes like this had happened countless times before, and he was extremely skilled at saying: "That's what I really think."

"Don't you think it's abrupt?" she asked. "New characters, completely different perspectives."

Kang Mu Cheng thought for a moment before answering: "The hunter's perspective is necessary. Demons are not human, and there are many complex emotional factors they can't understand, nor can you get a handle on them. A human hunter can make up for this and also allow readers to relate more."

"The grudge between the two protagonists also enriches your main storyline. The demon's curse originated from the hunter's ancestors, so the hunter shoulders the responsibility of destroying the demon... Very interesting cause and effect that readers will enjoy."

After pondering for a while longer, he concluded: "They blend together perfectly, very complementary."

Jian Jing was stunned for a moment, suddenly realizing.

Perhaps this was the answer she was looking for.